I this case a [[KuroBoxPro]] was used however any Linkstation could be used by accessing the serial port interface.

+

In this case a [[KuroBoxPro]] was used however any Linkstation could be used by accessing the serial port interface.

−

First you are going to have to install a [[serial port]] interface. There are two physical serial ports on the KuroBox. One [[Add a Serial port to the ARM9 Linkstation | serial port on the bottom]] which is the same as the port on the [[Information/LSPROOverview | Linkstation Pro]] and one on the [[SCON-KIT/_PRO_quick_manual | daughterboard accessible from the front]]. Both are addressed as <tt><b>/dev/ttyS0</b></tt>. Consider soldering in a pinheader rather than the pressure connector used in the method described in the [[Add a Serial port to the ARM9 Linkstation| LSPRO method]].

+

First, install a [[serial port]] interface. There are two physical serial ports on the KuroBoxPro. One [[Add a Serial port to the ARM9 Linkstation | serial port on the bottom]]<ref>[[Add a Serial port to the ARM9 Linkstation]]</ref> which is the same as the port on the [[Information/LSPROOverview | Linkstation Pro]] and one on the [[SCON-KIT/_PRO_quick_manual | daughterboard accessible from the front]]. Both are addressed as <tt><b>/dev/ttyS0</b></tt>. Consider soldering in a pinheader rather than the pressure connector used in the [[Add a Serial port to the ARM9 Linkstation| LSPRO method]].

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[[Image:ET-MINI_RS232_3V.jpg|200px]]

[[Image:ET-MINI_RS232_3V.jpg|200px]]

−

||The sign uses a 6 conductor RJ-12 Jack. A Quick port RJ-12 jack is used to interface the sign to the serial port converter

+

||The sign uses a 6 conductor RJ-12 Jack. A snap in RJ-12 jack is used to interface the sign to the serial port converter

Adjust the serial port settings, below is a script to do this. This information comes from a FAQ on using the Alpha sign with Linux<ref>[http://wls.wwco.com/ledsigns/alpha/AlphaLinux.html Using the Alpha 215C with Linux]

Adjust the serial port settings, below is a script to do this. This information comes from a FAQ on using the Alpha sign with Linux<ref>[http://wls.wwco.com/ledsigns/alpha/AlphaLinux.html Using the Alpha 215C with Linux]

The key parts of this are the MODE TAG and COLORTAG, there is full documentation available for this<ref>[http://www.ams-i.com/Pages/97088061.htm Alpha Sign Communications Protocol (pn 9708-8061)]

+

The key parts of this are the <b>MODE TAG</b> and <b>COLORTAG</b>, there is full documentation available for this<ref>[http://www.adaptivedisplays.com/Documentation/questions.php?questionid=149 Alpha Sign Communications Protocol (pn 9708-8061)]

−

</ref> but here are the pertinent parts.

+

</ref>but here are the pertinent parts.

{|

{|

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|-

|-

! width="20px" | a

! width="20px" | a

−

|| Regular smooth scroll, right to left

+

|| Message travels right to left.

|-

|-

! b

! b

−

|| Appear. Centers as much of message on screen, waits, and displays rest of message in similar manner

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|| Message remains stationary.

|-

|-

! c

! c

−

|| Appear with flashing.

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|| Message remains stationary and flashes

|-

|-

! d

! d

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|-

|-

! e

! e

−

|| Scroll up.

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|| Previous message is pushed up by a new message.

|-

|-

! f

! f

−

|| Scroll down from top.

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|| Previous message is pushed down by a new message.

|-

|-

! g

! g

−

||Jerky scroll from right to left.

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|| Previous message is pushed left by a new message.

|-

|-

! h

! h

−

|| Jerky scroll from left to right.

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|| Previous message is pushed right by a new message.

|-

|-

! i

! i

−

|| Wipe up from bottom, covering text.

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|| New message is wiped over the previous message from bottom to top.

|-

|-

! j

! j

−

|| Wipe down from top, covering text.

+

|| New message is wiped over the previous message from top to bottom.

|-

|-

! k

! k

−

|| Wipe over from right to left, character by character, not by pixels.

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|| New message is wiped over the previous message from right to left.

|-

|-

! l

! l

−

|| Wipe over from left to right, character by character.

+

|| New message is wiped over the previous message from left to right.

|-

|-

! m

! m

−

|| Scroll up. Same as 'e'?

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|| New message line pushes the bottom line to the top line if 2-line sign.

|-

|-

! n

! n

−

|| This is doing something weird based on message itself. Will have to investigate.

+

|| This is followed by a Special Specifier ASCII character which defines one of the Special Modes.

|-

|-

! o

! o

−

|| Auto/Random (same as 'd'?)

+

|| Various Modes are called upon to display the message automatically.

|-

|-

! p

! p

−

|| --> CENTER <-- Text appears at sides and squishes content in.

+

|| Previous message is pushed toward the center of the display by the new message.

|-

|-

! q

! q

−

|| <-- CENTER --> Text splits in center and pushed content out.

+

|| Previous message is pushed outward from the center by the new message.

|-

|-

! r

! r

−

|| --> COVER <-- New text covers old out to in.

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|| New message is wiped over the previous message in an inward motion.

|-

|-

! s

! s

−

|| <-- UNCOVER --> New text uncovers in to out.

+

|| New message is wiped over the previous message in an outward motion.

|-

|-

! t

! t

−

|| Compressed text! Using this mode the sign tricks your eyes into seeing more characters than it is capable of physically producing. Scrolls right to left.

+

|| COMPRESSED - Message travels right to left. Characters are approximately one half their normal width. (Only available on certain sign models.)

|-

|-

! u

! u

−

|| Fast Appear.

+

|| Message flies apart from the center (Alpha 3.0 protocol).

|-

|-

! v

! v

−

|| Medium Appear.

+

|| Wipe in a clockwise direction (Alpha 3.0 protocol).

−

|-

+

−

! w

+

−

|| Maybe medium-slow appear.

+

−

|-

+

−

! x

+

−

|| Same as 'p'?

+

−

|-

+

−

! y

+

−

|| Same as 'q'?

+

−

|-

+

−

! z

+

−

|| Same as 'r'?

+

−

|-

+

−

! @

+

−

|| The sign went blank.

+

|}

|}

−

||

−

−

{|

−

|-valign="top"

|width="50%"|

|width="50%"|

{| class="wikitable"

{| class="wikitable"

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|}

|}

−

==Stock Ticker==

+

==Ticker (Stock, Weather, News)==

−

The sign can be used for a number of purposes (to display weather forecasts from an RSS feed, to display news feeds as a news ticker) As a proof of concept the following script uses the sign to display a stock ticker that gets it's data from yahoo. It then colors the prices green if they are positive/up and red if they are negative/down for the day.

+

+

The sign can be used for a number of purposes (to display weather forecasts from an [[w:RSS|RSS]] feed, to display news feeds as a news ticker) As a proof of concept the following script uses the sign to display a stock ticker that gets it's data from [[w:Yahoo!|Yahoo!]] it then colors the prices

+

+

<font color=green>GREEN</font> if they are positive/up

+

+

and

+

+

<font color=red>RED</font> if they are negative/down

+

+

for the day

+

{| width = "690px" cellpadding="10px" cellspacing="10px"

+

|-valign=top

+

||

+

Here it is in action: (clip from a cell phone so quality is somewhat poor)

+

<youtube>ojkgEQLNVG0</youtube>

+

||

+

This clip shows it fetching weather Stock quotes and news. This one happens to be running on a [[w:Plug_computer|Seagate Dockstar]]

+

<youtube>T7l2s0NrXqA</youtube>

+

|}

First install perl and make

First install perl and make

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install curl and lynx so that they can be used later to get content from the web.

install curl and lynx so that they can be used later to get content from the web.

Interface Sign to Serial Port Interface

A standard 6 wire telephone cable meant for a two line phone is used (a 4 wire one will not work) Plug one end into the sign, and one end into the Quick port RJ-12 Jack. Wire the jack into the serial port board as such[3]

MODE TAG and COLORTAG

The key parts of this are the MODE TAG and COLORTAG, there is full documentation available for this[5]but here are the pertinent parts.

MODE TAG

a

Message travels right to left.

b

Message remains stationary.

c

Message remains stationary and flashes

d

Auto. Randomly picks an effect for each part of the message, as opposed to the message as a whole.

e

Previous message is pushed up by a new message.

f

Previous message is pushed down by a new message.

g

Previous message is pushed left by a new message.

h

Previous message is pushed right by a new message.

i

New message is wiped over the previous message from bottom to top.

j

New message is wiped over the previous message from top to bottom.

k

New message is wiped over the previous message from right to left.

l

New message is wiped over the previous message from left to right.

m

New message line pushes the bottom line to the top line if 2-line sign.

n

This is followed by a Special Specifier ASCII character which defines one of the Special Modes.

o

Various Modes are called upon to display the message automatically.

p

Previous message is pushed toward the center of the display by the new message.

q

Previous message is pushed outward from the center by the new message.

r

New message is wiped over the previous message in an inward motion.

s

New message is wiped over the previous message in an outward motion.

t

COMPRESSED - Message travels right to left. Characters are approximately one half their normal width. (Only available on certain sign models.)

u

Message flies apart from the center (Alpha 3.0 protocol).

v

Wipe in a clockwise direction (Alpha 3.0 protocol).

COLORTAG

1

Red

2

Green

3

Amber

4

Dim red

5

Dim green

6

Brown

7

Orange

8

Yellow

9

Rainbow 1

A

Rainbow 2

B

Color mix

C

Autocolor

Ticker (Stock, Weather, News)

The sign can be used for a number of purposes (to display weather forecasts from an RSS feed, to display news feeds as a news ticker) As a proof of concept the following script uses the sign to display a stock ticker that gets it's data from Yahoo! it then colors the prices

GREEN if they are positive/up

and

RED if they are negative/down

for the day

Here it is in action: (clip from a cell phone so quality is somewhat poor)

This clip shows it fetching weather Stock quotes and news. This one happens to be running on a Seagate Dockstar